Swapping to Formula from BF?

I have breastfed my DD for 11 weeks, other than issues with over supply and the expected green poo and biting, it has been quite good actually!! However, I had always planned to swap to formula once teething started, especially as I am already getting bitten (symptom of oversupply, DD tries to stem the flow) and don't fancy sharpe little teeth on my already bruised and sensitive nipples. What methods and tips can anyone suggest that will make this easier?? I have read a couple of threads and some people said they had trouble swapping, what other ways are there to avoid pain?Also, I was a research scientist and my idea of sterile is totally differant (flames, high pressure, super hot steam etc!) to the levels required for feeding formula. I don't want to make a mistake and harm my DD and neither do I want to be forever sterilsing everything. What is ok and what isan't??

Obviously it's your decision, but just to say teeth don't necessarily make things worse and it can get easier as they get older because they can start to understand not to bite.

Assuming you do want to swap, I can't help on formula more generally, but sterilising is pretty straightforward. Firstly, many people (and some countries I believe) consider it unnecessary. You can wash in hot soapy water/a dishwasher and air dry. It's actually poor washing technique (i.e. not giving it a good clean because you're going to sterilise it) that causes a lot of problems - but you should be a dab hand at that bit! If you do sterilise (and don't want to buy a gizmo), I think it's generally five minutes in boiling water. The important thing really is learning to make up the formula in a safe way - powder into water no cooler than 70 degrees.

agree, not all babies bite. I think ds3 bit me once or twice, but never had it from either of the others.you will prob find as DD gets older that the oversupply is less of an issue and it all settles down a bit and she will stop clamping down on your nipple anyway

but if you want to swap to formula anyway then I think prevoius poster has said everything I'd have said too a really, really good wash in very hot water is plenty enough, esp for an older baby. just make sure you make the formula up with hot enough water to kill any bacteria in it.or use cartons

oh actually there is one more thing... cut down slowly to avoid distress to baby and mastitis for you!

Gosh no, there's loads of ways to stop biting if it does happen, and it's certainly not a certainty. Many babies don't bite at all - ever - and as we're biologically designed to breastfeed for 3-6 years we'd not have done well as a race if babies bit too much .

If you do decide to carry on, there's always help and support here for anything you want to discuss

If you do choose to change to formula, another thing to consider is that the powder isn't sterile, and when she's no longer getting breastmilk there's no support for her immune system. So, as well as ensuring that the bottles are clean it's also important to pour HOT water (around 70 degrees) onto the formula, then cool to feeding temperature. They say that if you boil the kettle, then leave it for around 20-30 minutes it should be about 70 degrees. Cooler than this and it may not kill any lurking bugs. Hotter and it will destroy some of the vitamins in the powder.

You can make the feeds up, then cool them quickly and keep them in the back of the fridge for up to 24 hours, although ideally it's best to use them straightaway. Not very practical though, when you have a hungry baby, to make it like this when they're ready for a feed. If you do make batches, spilt them down into small feeds so there's no retained hot spot in the centre of a large batch that doesn't cool quickly enough.

As has been mentioned, switching slowly from breast to formula is important - one feed at a time, leave it a few days, then another... Play it by ear and if you feel too full, leave it a few more days before dropping another feed.

If you feel like you would like to carry on, but the clamping down and potential biting are a problem, I'd suggest starting a separate thread to ask for advice. Plenty of people will have been there and have tips.

I can't help with biting, but have had issues with oversupply. Have you been taught some of the tricks for coping with that - feeding 'uphill', allowing some to flow off into a muslin, etc?

BTW, if you do decide to keep going, later on a high supply can be a real bonus. As dd1 got older I could do a feed in five minutes flat, and they can cope with it much better as they get bigger.